Week 06 - Italicization

Dear Baby,

It was in the middle of this week that I finally told the world that you were on your way. Though I’d alluded to it on my webpage, I was afraid to come right out and say I was going to be a father. I wanted to see the aforementioned betaHcG doubling appropriately before I went out and blabbed about it. On Wednesday, July 13, your mom had blood drawn for the third time. Her beta level, 4900, was more than adequate (Her previous levels had been 281 and 546 respectively). You were in there all right, and you were doing just fine. So I told everyone, because that’s what I do.

Inside your mother’s womb, unaware of the fact that your father was already embarrassing you in front of, like, the entire Internet, you were keeping busy. Although we wouldn’t have the pleasure of hearing it for almost another month, this was the week that your tiny heart began to beat. If the beta numbers really were any indication of how well you were doing, your heart was beating around the average of 150 BPM—the average for embryos, that is. A typical adult’s heart rate is actually about half of that.

You were also growing faster and faster. This week, you tripled in size. Tripled! Yes, I am italicizing far too often. But I was excited. I was excited to the point of your embarrassment. This was the type of excitement that simply demands italicization. I mean, I’m not even sure italicization is a word, but just take that as further proof of how excited I was—I mean, I’m actually making up words to describe it.

You’re blushing as you read this, I know it. And it won’t be the last time that my jubilation reddens your cheeks. I’m sure you’re sorry to hear that, but, my dear child, let me tell you: the love and the pride of parents is only so embarrassing because it is so all-encompassing. There is no other love in the world like it. For better or worse, there is no one in the world that I will love as I love you.